Portable auxiliary door locks



June 21, 1966 H. M. VON DUYKE 3,2

PORTABLE AUXILIARY DOOR LOCKS Filed July 27, 1964 Has I 3 l7 ,7 l0 5 /3 la I 20 W I /.9 mun 5 I l 1 ll 2 i M/ VE /V T 0R HARRISON M. VO/V DUVKE g MW *1 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,257,137 PORTABLE AUXILIARY DOOR LOCKS Harrison M. Von Duyke, PO. Box 842, Wilmington, Del. Filed July 27,1964, Ser. No. 385,440 8 Claims. (Cl. 292-298) This invention relates to a portable auxiliary door lock, that is to say, to a device adapted to be readily applied to a door jamb to insure that the door will not be opened by persons having possession of duplicate or master keys, or by means of lock, picking devices, or other implements such as are used by hotel thieves and the like.

In my prior application for Letters Patent filed July 28, 1954, Serial No. 446,352, now abandoned, there is disclosed an auxiliary door lock, the present invention including a supplemental holding member which enhances the security of that door lock.

This inventionis particularly useful for application by travellers to the doors of hotel rooms and the like.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a relatively simple, yet inexpensive device, which can be readily mounted in connection wit-h any ordinary door structure, for the purpose of providing an auxiliary lock which cannot be picked from the outside and which will prevent the opening of the door with ordinary or master keys.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character aforesaid whereby, when the same is mounted in connection with a door structure, and the parts are properly adjusted, persons within the room will be effectively protected against undesired intrusion.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character aforesaid, which may be readilymounted and adjusted by persons who are not particularly skillful.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device I of the character aforesaid which will be light in weight,

whereby the same may be conveniently carried by traveling men.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in connection with the device of the character aforesaid, supplemental holding means in the form of a swingable cam will be more readily understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, in which:

FIGURE 1 'is an elevation-a1 view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention applied to a portion of a door jamb;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view, enlarged, taken approximately on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1; I

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view, enlarged, taken approximately on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the device of FIG. 1.

It should, of course, be understood that the description and drawings herein are illustrative merely, and that various modifications and changes can be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, in the particular embodiment of the invention therein shown, the main or body portion of the device is preferably made of punched and formed sheet metal, the same comprising an elongated plate 5, at the front end of which there are provided bent 3,257,137 Patented June 21, 1966 over wings 6, of hook like formation, which are adapted to extend into the lock or striker plate recess 7 which is usually provided in the door trim. The wings 6 extend through a hole 8 in the striker plate 9, which is provided for the ordinary door look.

A bracket 10, having spaced parallel bent over end portions or ears 11, is slidably mounted on the main plate 5 of the device. The bracket 10 is prevented from sliding off the plate 5 at the front end by the bent over portions 6. The bent over end portions or ears 11 preferably have aligned openings 12 for purposes to be explained.

A pivot pin 13 extends from one of the bent over portions 11 to the other. A pawl 14 is pivotally mounted on the pivot pin 13. One end of the pawl 14, which is adjacent the pivot pin 13, is cam shaped .as at 15 so that when pressure is applied against the other end of the pawl 14 the same will grip the plate 5 wherever the bracket 10 and the pawl 14 may be located on said plate 5. The pawl 14 also has a face 16.

While the gripping action thus provided will ordinarily sufiice supplemental holding means is preferably provided which includes a generally Ushaped wire holder element 17 having an arm 18 extending through the openings 12 with a central offset cam portion 19 to engage the pawl face 16 and a laterally extending flattened actuating finger 20 to facilitate swinging the holder element 17 and the cam portion 19 thereof.

When it is desired to use the device to secure the door against undesired opening, the door 21 is first brought to an open position, and the hook wings 6 are then inserted in the recess 7 behind the hole 8 of the striker plate 9, the pawl 14 meanwhile being located at the outermost end of the plate 5. The door 21 may then be closed and, when so closed, the bracket 10, preferably with the clamp 16 removed therefrom, is then slid into position until the free end of the pawl 14 engages the door 21, and the bracket is pushed to such position that the cam portion 15 of the pawl 14 will grip the plate 5 and securely clamp the bracket 10 in the fixed locking position.

It should be noted that thereafter any pres-sure, which may be exerted on the door 21 for the purpose of opening the same, will cause the cam portion 15 of the pawl 14 to grip the plate 5 more firmly. It has been ascertained however that in some instances vibration may tend to cause the pawl 14 to slip or be released.

' The supplemental holding means shown as the U-shaped holder element 17 has been found to obviate this when the same'is inserted in the openings 12 and swing to the position shown in FIG. 1 with the offset cam portion 19 of the arm 18 in engagement with the pawl face 16.

Movement of the holder element 17 is facilitated by the finger 20.

The holder element 17 can be readily swung to release position by movement of the finger 20.

By the within described arrangement, there is provided a simple, yet efficient portable auxiliary door lock which may be conveniently carried in the baggage of traveling people, and which may be readily and easily applied to door structures in hotels and the like, and irrespective of the side of the door at which the hinges are located, whereby persons in.a room on the inside of the door will be effectively protected against undesired intrusion. The auxiliary door lock is of course useful in apartments and with exterior house doors.

I claim:

1. A portable auxiliary door lock comprising a smooth surfaced plate member having hook members at one end thereof adapted to engage a portion of a door jamb, a bracket member slidably mounted on said plate member, a pawl pivotally carried by said bracket member, said pawl having a cam portion at one end adjacent its pivotal axis adapted to grip the plate and clamp the bracket member at desired locations, and the .free end of said pawl extending outwardly to a position to engage the door and hold the same against undesired opening when the pawl is in gripping relationship with the plate member.

2. A portable auxiliary door lock as defined in claim 1 in which a supplemental holding member is'provided engageable with said pawl when said pawl is in door engaging position.

3. A portable auxiliary door lock as defined in claim 1 in which -a supplemental holding member is provided carried by said bracket member having an arm with a cam portion engageable with said pawl when said pawl is in door engaging position.

4. A portable auxiliary door lock as defined in claim 3 in which said holding member is pivotally mounted on said bracket member and has a finger for manual activation.

5. A portable auxiliary door lock comprising a smooth surfaced plate member having hook members at one end thereof adapted to engage the striker plate recess of an ordinary door jarnb, a bracket member slidably mounted on said plate member, a pawl pivotally carried by said bracket member, said pawl having a cam portion at one end adjacent its pivotal axis adapted to grip the plate and clamp the bracket member at desired locations, and the free end of said pawl extending outwardly to a position to engage a door and hold the same against undesired opening, when the pawl is in gripping relationship with the plate member the arrangement being such A} that, after the parts are positioned in the locking location, movement of the door will cause the cam portion of the pawl to grip the plate member more firmly.

6. A portable auxiliary door lock as defined in claim 5 in which a supplemental holdling member is provided engageable with said pawl when said pawl is in door engaging position.

7. A portable auxiliary door lock as defined in claim 5 in which a supplemental holding member is provided carried by said bracket member having an arm with a cam portion engageable with said pawl when said pawl is in door engaging position.

8. A portable auxiliary door lock as defined in claim 7 in which said holding member is pivotally mounted on said bracket member and has a finger for manual activation.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 584,677 8/1897 Doyle 292292 635,530 10/1899 Duck 292292 1,065,636 8/1913 Tadini 292292 1,147,459 7/1915 Stoddard 292-296 1,308,473 7/1919 Boehringer et al. 292-295 2,461,398 2/1949 Sands 292-297 PATRICK A. CLIFFORD, Primary Examiner. R. E. MOORE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A PORTABLE AUXILIARY DOOR LOCK COMPRISING A SMOOTH SURFACED PLATE MEMBER HAVING HOOK MEMBERS AT ONE END THEREOF ADAPTED TO ENGAGE A PORTION OF A DOOR JAMB, A BRACKET MEMBER SLIDBALY MOUNTED ON SAID PLATE MEMBER, A PAWL PIVOTALLY CARRIED BY SAIR BRACKET MEMBER, SAID PAWL HAVING A CAM PORTION AT ONE END ADJACENT ITS PIVOTAL AXIS ADAPTED TO GRIP THE PLATE AND CLAMP THE BRACKET MEMBER AT DESIRED LOCATIONS, AND THE FREE END OF SAID PAWL EXTENDING OUTWARDLY TO A POSITION TO ENGAGE THE DOOR AND HOLD THE SAME AGAINST UNDESIRED OPENING WHEN THE PAWL IS IN GRIPPING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PLATE MEMBER. 